Outbursts of Everett True

A two-panel gag strip featuring Everett True, a round, bald protagonist prone to violent overreaction. In panel one, True refuses a neighbor's invitation to socialize, clutching a baby. In panel two, after the neighbor cracks a joke, True responds with exaggerated physical aggression—launching the man through the air. The strip demonstrates early newspaper comic conventions: recurring character, speech balloons for dialogue, sequential narrative across panels, and visual humor escalating across frames. By the early 1900s, such strips populated Sunday pages and dailies, establishing the visual language that would define comic books: panel borders guiding reader flow, expressive caricature, and comedic timing through layout.